A full slate of games in Fantasy Week 7, with seven games on tap for each team. Our Al Melchior breaks down the interleague implications and helps set your rotations in his SHuffling the Rotations.

Interleague play won't be the only quirk in Fantasy for the coming
scoring period.

With every team playing a seven-game schedule in Fantasy Week 7 (May
14-20), there will be no shortage of two-start pitching options. That
means that some pitchers, like
Hiroki Kuroda
,
Trevor Cahill
,
Bud Norris
and
Ted Lilly
, who would
often be viable in standard mixed leagues with one start, are not among
the most advisable options this time around. Meanwhile, there are some
new faces in this week's top 70, like
Wade Miley
,
Anthony Bass
,
Jeanmar Gomez
and
Wei-Yin Chen
, who
were included due to their two-start status.

One of the tougher pitchers to place in this week's rankings was
Chris Sale
. In the span of two weeks, he went from being a key part
of the White Sox's rotation, to being moved to the closer's role, to
having an MRI on his elbow, and finally being reinserted in the rotation
as if nothing ever happened. All of the drama may have affected Sale in
his start against the Royals on Saturday night, but given how good he
had been in his first five starts, he still merits a spot on this week's
list, down at number 46.

Here's the rundown on trends for Sale and the 69 other top options for
Week 7.

Starting Rotation breakdown for Fantasy Week 7

Rank

Player

Start 1

Start 2

Stat of note

1

Clayton Kershaw

ARI (Kennedy)

STL (Westbrook)

3 of 5 HRs allowed hit at Coors Field

Subtract out Kershaw's lone start at Colorado, and his season ERA is
just 1.88.

2

Cliff Lee

HOU (Lyles)

BOS (Beckett)

No walks in six out of last nine starts

Incredibly, Lee's laser-like control just keeps getting sharper.

3

Stephen Strasburg

SD (Bass)

BAL (Chen)

Ranks third in the majors with 10.4 K/9 (entering Sat.)

Strasburg continues to live up to the hype ... and he gets the
Padres this week.

4

Zack Greinke

@NYM (Gee)

MIN (Marquis)

Allowed 2 ER or fewer in five of seven starts

Greinke can get clobbered at times, but don't let that overshadow
his largely steady pattern of performances.

5

Yovani Gallardo

@NYM (Batista)

MIN (Pavano)

Career 2.48 ERA vs. MIN

Gallardo has faced the Twins four times in interleague play, and he
has handled their lineup with little stress.

6

CC Sabathia

@BAL (Chen)

CIN (Cueto)

53 Ks in 51 1/3 innings

If not for a lower-than-normal strand rate, Sabathia would be on
pace for his lowest ERA (2.71 xFIP) in four years.

7

Ian Kennedy

@LAD (Kershaw)

@KC (Chen)

.217 BABIP on flyballs

With a 1.28 WHIP, Kennedy is not matching last year's pristine mark,
but he should give up fewer flyball hits going forward.

8

David Price

@TOR (Alvarez)

ATL (Hudson)

30 1/3 innings pitched over last four starts

After some early struggles with efficiency, Price has been going
very deep into games.

9

Justin Verlander

PIT (Morton)

N/A

13.0 percent infield fly rate

Verlander's low BABIP from a season ago looked fluky, but this
year's .255 rate may be more sustainable.

10

Jered Weaver

@SD (Suppan)

N/A

Six quality starts in seven tries

Even when Weaver has been less than spectacular, he has been good
enough to win in nearly every start.

11

Roy Halladay

@CHC (Volstad)

N/A

7.4 K/9 over last five starts (entering Sat.)

Some have lamented Halladay's relative lack of velocity, but he has
been getting whiffs and Ks at near-normal levels of late.

12

Adam Wainwright

@SF (Cain)

N/A

4.9 K/BB (entering Sat.)

Wainwright's command has been as sharp as ever, so as long as he can
avoid homers, he will be solid.

13

Cole Hamels

BOS (Bard)

N/A

34 percent flyball rate

Hamels has traded some grounders for liners in his early starts, but
he's still stingy with flyballs and long balls (3 HRs allowed).

14

Felix Hernandez

@CLE (Jimenez)

N/A

At least 6 Ks in seven of eight starts

Regardless of the difficulty of the matchup, King Felix continues to
come up big with strikeouts.

15

Anibal Sanchez

PIT (Lincoln)

@CLE (Gomez)

51 percent ground ball rate

Sanchez's 46 Ks in 40 1/3 innings have been drawing attention, but
grounders have been a big part of his success, too.

16

Josh Johnson

PIT (Correia)

@CLE (Lowe)

3.78 pitches per plate appearance

Johnson has improved his efficiency this year, and that will come in
handy against a patient Indians' lineup.

17

Drew Smyly

@CHW (Danks)

PIT (Burnett)

10.9 percent swinging strike rate

Smyly should add to his already-impressive strikeout total with
starts against a pair of teams that whiff a lot.

18

Jake Peavy

DET (Scherzer)

@CHC (Maholm)

2.6 percent HR/flyball ratio

Peavy's crazy-low homer rate on flyballs is bound to regress, but it
probably won't happen against a power-deprived Cubs squad, even at
Wrigley Field.

19

Gio Gonzalez

PIT (Bedard)

N/A

2.77 xFIP

Sure, Gonzalez has been lucky to amass a 1.94 ERA, but xFIP says he
has still been good enough to boast a legitimate sub-3.00 mark.

20

James Shields

ATL (Hanson)

N/A

8.7 K/9 in interleague games

Shields gets a tough assignment this week, but NL batters have
struck out against him more frequently than their AL counterparts.

21

C.J. Wilson

CHW (Sale)

N/A

0.94 WHIP at home

How will Wilson respond after making starts in back-to-back games?
Time will tell, but at least he gets to head back to his home park.

22

Jordan Zimmermann

PIT (McDonald)

N/A

Quality starts recorded in first 6 GS

Zimmermann is efficient, effective and highly consistent.

23

Yu Darvish

OAK (Milone)

N/A

.339 opponents' SLG vs. lefties

Darvish has been good at limiting extra-base hits against
left-handed hitters, so he could shut down the A's lefty-heavy
lineup.

24

Matt Cain

STL (Wainwright)

N/A

68 percent strikes thrown (entering Sat.)

Only
Bartolo Colon
,
Bronson Arroyo
and
Cliff Lee
have
been in the zone more often, so Cain is officially a control artist.

25

Madison Bumgarner

STL (Garcia)

N/A

16 Ks over last 20 2/3 innings

Initially this year, Bumgarner had a hard time missing bats, but
he's been a better strikeout pitcher lately.

26

Matt Garza

PHI (Worley)

N/A

Career 0.96 ERA vs. PHI

Garza has already dominated the Phillies once this year, but he has
made a habit of shutting them down over four past starts.

27

Johnny Cueto

@ATL (Hudson)

@NYY (Sabathia)

Career 3.08 ERA vs. ATL

Cueto has never pitched at Yankee Stadium, but even if he struggles,
his history suggests that he can have a good start against the
Braves.

28

Brandon Beachy

MIA (Nolasco)

N/A

45 percent ground ball rate (entering Sat.)

Beachy hasn't been a strikeout pitcher so far, but he has remained
effective by not getting hit hard.

29

Doug Fister

MIN (Walters)

N/A

No more than one walk in 13 of last 14 starts (entering Sat.)

The Twins aren't averse to taking free passes, but Fister hasn't
been issuing walks to anyone.

30

Dan Haren

OAK (Ross)

@SD (Stauffer)

Career 1.04 WHIP vs. OAK

Haren is a bit risky coming off of a stiff back, but he has two
highly favorable matchups ahead.

31

Jon Lester

SEA (Vargas)

@PHI (Blanton)

4.8 percent swinging strike rate, last two starts

Lester is still viable as a weekly start, but his recent low whiff
rate is something to monitor.

32

Ryan Dempster

@STL (Westbrook)

CHW (Danks)

33 Ks in last 37 1/3 innings vs. STL

The Cardinals have been one of the tougher matchups in the NL, but
Dempster has racked up Ks against them.

33

Johan Santana

CIN (Leake)

N/A

1.90 home ERA

Santana has had some hiccups on the road, but he has been superb in
his four starts at Citi Field.

34

Shaun Marcum

@HOU (Happ)

N/A

No earned runs in 14 innings at HOU

Marcum can be homer-prone, but at hitter-friendly Minute Maid Park,
he has a spotless record.

35

Lance Lynn

@LAD (Lilly)

N/A

Fewer hits allowed than innings in each start

Lynn has had some BABIP help, but frequent Ks and grounders have
also been key to his 0.85 WHIP.

36

Mat Latos

@NYM (Dickey)

N/A

24 Ks over last 25 innings (entering Sat.)

His season stats are still dragged down by his first two starts, but
make no mistake, Latos is still a strikeout machine.

37

Ricky Romero

NYM (Niese)

N/A

Career 1.88 ERA in interleague games

Romero has been outstanding in nine starts against NL teams, and
five of those have been against the Phillies (three) and the
Cardinals (two).

38

Jason Hammel

NYY (Nova)

@WAS (Detwiler)

Two runs or fewer in every start

Hammel has already faced the Yankees and Red Sox once and the Blue
Jays twice, so it's not as if he is sprucing up his stats against
weak teams.

39

Brandon Morrow

TB (Niemann)

NYM (Batista)

Opponents' .201 Avg

Morrow has stymied most of his foes so far, but then again, only two
of his seven starts have been against AL East competition.

40

Jeff Niemann

@TOR (Morrow)

ATL (Delgado)

16.6 percent line drive rate since 2010

It's no accident that Niemann posts better-than-average WHIPs; he is
consistently good at avoiding hard contact on balls in play.

41

Tim Hudson

CIN (Cueto)

@TB (Price)

67 percent ground ball rate

Hudson was not quite as masterful at inducing grounders last year,
but his sinker is working wonders again.

42

Tommy Hanson

@TB (Shields)

N/A

9.0 percent swinging strike rate

Hanson's velocity is down substantially, but he is getting whiffs at
roughly the same rate he did two years ago.

43

Vance Worley

@CHC (Garza)

N/A

Pitched six innings or more in 13 straight starts

Worley rarely blows up, and he has been especially reliable since
late last season.

44

Gavin Floyd

@LAA (Williams)

N/A

7.7 percent fastball whiff rate

Floyd is getting much more movement on his heater this season, and
it's helped to increase his strikeout rate.

45

Ervin Santana

OAK (Colon)

@SD (Bass)

Career 3.93 ERA in interleague games

Santana is plagued by the gopher ball yet again, but with a start at
PETCO Park on the schedule, it should be safe to start him this week.

46

Chris Sale

@LAA (Wilson)

N/A

Career 1.76 road ERA (entering Sat.)

After the tumult of the last two weeks, it's hard to know how Sale's
return to starting will go, but he clearly thrives away from U.S.
Cellular Field.

47

Josh Beckett

SEA (Beavan)

@PHI (Lee)

Four quality starts in six tries

Amidst all of the controversy, what has been lost is that Beckett
has been good in most of his starts this year. The state of his lat
is the biggest concern.

48

Justin Masterson

MIA (Zambrano)

N/A

1.95 GB/FB ratio, last three starts

Masterson has been wild lately, but strong ground ball tendencies
have helped him to a 3.05 ERA over his last three turns in the
rotation.

49

Bartolo Colon

@LAA (Santana)

@SF (Lincecum)

No earned runs allowed over last 15 innings at LAA

Colon can't be trusted with certain matchups, but in these two
pitcher-friendly venues, he's a safe play.

50

Wandy Rodriguez

TEX (Feliz)

N/A

Pitched at least 7.0 innings in four of last five starts

Rodriguez's K-rate has been lagging, but he is continuing his trend
of pitching deep into games.

51

Colby Lewis

KC (Mendoza)

@HOU (Lyles)

Career 1.42 ERA at HOU

As he showed in his last start, Lewis is always a threat to give up
multiple homers, but the Royals and Astros are relatively safe
matchups for him.

52

Ryan Vogelsong

COL (Friedrich)

OAK (Ross)

2.13 home ERA since 2011

Worsening control has made Vogelsong a liability in some weeks, but
he's worth using with a pair of starts at AT&T Park.

53

Henderson Alvarez

TB (Price)

NYM (Gee)

Eight double play balls (tied for 2nd in majors)

Even without many strikeouts, Alvarez is averaging 15.7 Fantasy
points per start, and double plays are just part of his formula for
success.

54

Ross Detwiler

SD (Stauffer)

BAL (Hammel)

Seven line drives on 102 hit balls

Detwiler's line drive rate and 1.02 WHIP are sure to rise, but it
shows just how difficult it has been for hitters to square up on him.

55

Jaime Garcia

@SF (Bumgarner)

N/A

.355 BABIP

Many of Garcia's indicators, such as swinging strike rate, walk rate
and line drive rate, look good, so his high rate of hits on balls in
play looks unlucky.

56

R.A. Dickey

CIN (Latos)

N/A

1.71 home ERA

Dickey's two worst starts have come on the road, but he continues to
build on a pattern of being tough at Citi Field.

57

Jeremy Hellickson

BOS (Buchholz)

N/A

24 Ks over last 29 innings

It's too early to say for sure, but maybe Hellickson is becoming a
strikeout pitcher again after all.

58

Joe Blanton

HOU (Harrell)

BOS (Lester)

69 percent strikes thrown, last three starts

Blanton is generally a pretty reliable strike-thrower, but he is
taking his control up a notch.

59

Kyle Lohse

CHC (Maholm)

@LAD (Billingsley)

2.55 ERA vs. CHC in 2011

Lohse's newfound command was in evidence in three starts against
Chicago last year, as he struck out 16 batters while walking just
two.

60

Chris Capuano

@SD (Richard)

N/A

Five straight quality starts

Only 49 percent of Capuano's career starts have been of the quality
variety, but he is avoiding homers and staying out of trouble.

61

Tim Lincecum

COL (Guthrie)

OAK (Colon)

14 percent line drive rate, last three starts

Lincecum is still having command issues, but fewer hard-hit balls
could be a sign of progress.

62

Max Scherzer

@CHW (Peavy)

PIT (Correia)

66 percent strikes thrown, last two starts

Scherzer has come out of his funk, but a pair of good starts doesn't
mean he can't be erratic going forward.

63

Brandon McCarthy

@TEX (Harrison)

N/A

3.54 P/PA (entering Sat.)

McCarthy is coming off a sore shoulder and a long layoff, plus he
has a tough matchup. Still, he continues to be one of the most
efficient pitchers in the game.

64

Wade Miley

@LAD (Billingsley)

@KC (Mendoza)

Opponents' .331 SLG

Miley's proclivity for ground balls is helping him to minimize
damage, even though he's a below-average strikeout pitcher.

65

Anthony Bass

@WAS (Strasburg)

LAA (Santana)

10.8 percent swinging strike rate

Bass got batters to whiff in the minors, but low called strike
percentages kept his K-rates somewhat modest. Just maybe he can keep
this up.

66

Ivan Nova

@BAL (Hammel)

CIN (Bailey)

Career 3.72 ERA at BAL

Nova has been a much better pitcher away from Yankee Stadium, and
that includes the launching pad that is Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

67

Jonathon Niese

@TOR (Romero)

N/A

Allowed 3 ER or fewer in five of six starts

Niese has been in a relative slump, but aside from one start against
Houston, he has been reliable.

68

Jeanmar Gomez

@MIN (Pavano)

MIA (Sanchez)

2 BBs or fewer in eight out of last nine starts

Gomez's control wasn't especially notable as a prospect, but it's
becoming his hallmark as a major leaguer.

69

Tim Stauffer

@WAS (Detwiler)

LAA (Haren)

Career 3.11 ERA in interleague games

Making his first starts of the year, Stauffer is a wild card, but
owners can take comfort in knowing that AL teams haven't been a
threat to him.

70

Wei-Yin Chen

NYY (Sabathia)

@WAS (Strasburg)

10.6 percent swinging strike rate

Chen has the misfortune of dueling with a pair of aces, but his
strikeout rate has been higher than expected.

Al Melchior has been playing Fantasy Baseball since 1994, getting his start in the Southern Maryland Anthropomorphic Baseball League (SMABL). He has been writing about Fantasy Baseball since 2000, getting...
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